10 personality traits of people who always smile (even on a bad day)

Ever wondered what’s the deal with people who always smile?

Are they super zen and enlightened, are they in denial, or are they faking it?

I guess all three answers are possible!

Some people are eternal optimists, others smile as a way to mask what’s really going on, while others still do it to trick us.

In this article, we’ll go through 6 positive personality traits of people who always smile (even on a bad day) and then we’ll take a look at 4 not-so-positive reasons they keep smiling.

Here we go:

Positive personality traits of people who always smile

1) Optimistic

It turns out that a lot of people who smile all the time do so because they’re optimists.

They have a positive outlook on life, they can’t help it. Even when things aren’t great or they’re going through a hard time, they try not to dwell on the negative.

Instead, they try to find the good in a bad situation and to think about all the good things they’re grateful for.

Who knows, maybe they’re enlightened, maybe they know something we don’t.

Whatever the reason, they truly believe that the future will be positive and that everything will work out for the best.

2) Sociable

Here’s another personality trait of people who always smile – they’re sociable.

So the reason that they’re always smiling when you see them is that they’re genuinely happy to see you (or anyone else really).

They’re outgoing, friendly, and really enjoy the company of other people – whether it be their friends, family, co-workers, their grocer, or their butcher!

Their smiles are simply part of their friendly demeanor and open body language which make them approachable and easy to talk to.

3) Empathetic

Empathetic people are emotionally intelligent people who can easily put themselves in other people’s shoes in order to see things from their point of view and understand how they feel.

Smiling is a form of non-verbal communication that conveys friendliness, warmth, and approachability.

It’s no wonder then that empathetic people smile so much – it’s a great way to establish a rapport with someone and makes social interactions easier.

4) Compassionate

Empathy and compassion go hand in hand.

It would be rather odd to have one without the other, wouldn’t you agree?

Compassionate people don’t just care about the well-being and happiness of other people, they’re also ready to take action whenever they can to help.

So, naturally, they’re going to smile to signal to others that they’re friendly and open and wish them well.

A smile can communicate so many things – from compassion to understanding to support.

Just think about it for a second – who would you trust to help you, someone who looks angry or someone who smiles at you?

5) Confident

Here’s another personality trait of people who smile all the time – they’re confident.

Yup, they’re comfortable in their skin and happy with where they are in life. They’re self-assured and have a strong feeling of self-worth.

Now, I’m not necessarily saying that they’re amazing people that are super accomplished, I’m just saying that they’re happy with the way things are.

Their smile is part of their confident body language which also includes holding their head up high, shoulders back, chest out and arms open.

And if they feel confident, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks, does it?

6) Grateful

Sometimes people smile for the simple reason that they’re feeling grateful.

I mean, I’ve done it myself countless times. Like when my dog was lost and I found her, I spent the rest of the day feeling happy and going around smiling. I bet people wondered what I was smiling about.

So, yeah, people smile because they’re grateful for the little (and big) things in their lives. They also smile because they’re happy to be alive. Sounds like a pretty good reason to me.

Negative personality traits of people who always smile

Now that we’ve looked at some positive and genuine traits of people who always smile, let’s go down another road and explore some negative traits of people who always smile.

1) Fake

This is one of the things I most hate about some people – their two-faced nature.

I’m sure you’ve met at least one person like this, someone who smiles and pretends to be everyone’s friend, and then goes and talks about them behind their backs or worse!

I actually left a job because the office manager was one such person and their fake smile created a very toxic environment.

2) Suppressed

Now, in this case, someone’s smile could be negative because it means they’re not in touch with their feelings.

They’re unable to deal with pain, anger, or frustration, so they bottle those feelings up and walk around with a big smile – to reassure everyone around them as well as themselves that they’re doing okay.

But that’s a ticking time bomb, isn’t it?

I mean it’s just a matter of time before those suppressed emotions come out to the surface.

3) Avoidant

Okay, so maybe this trait isn’t as bad as the last two, but it’s certainly not positive.

You see, sometimes people smile because they’re trying to avoid a difficult conversation with someone or are scared of getting into a confrontation.

So rather than come out and say what’s on their mind, they’ll smile and pretend that everything is A-okay.

4) Malicious

Finally, some people’s smiles are sinister and are there to cover the fact that they’re up to no good!

Just think of an evil stepmother in a Disney cartoon or a real-life politician.

See what I mean?

They want to trick us into believing that they have our best interests at heart, but all they really care about is themselves.